Australia's former Speaker Peter Slipper cleared of sexual harassment

A judge has thrown out a sexual harassment lawsuit against Peter Slipper, the former speaker of the Australian parliament, dubbing it nothing more than a political attack aimed at ruining the man's career.

Peter Slipper, the former speaker of the Australian parliamentPhoto: AP

8:59AM GMT 12 Dec 2012

Mr Slipper resigned as speaker in October, weakening the Australian government's tenuous grip on power, after his media adviser James Ashby accused him of sexually propositioning him.

Julia Gillard's Labour party government had recruited Mr Slipper from opposition ranks to the speaker's post in a move that effectively gave Labour, which holds a razor-thin majority in Parliament, an additional vote on most legislation. When Mr Slipper resigned, Miss Gillard was forced to rely on independent and minor-party lawmakers to pass her legislative agenda.

Mr Slipper, who is married, denied the sexual harassment allegation and argued the lawsuit had been designed solely to hurt him and destabilise the government.

Federal Court Justice Steven Rares agreed, and found that Mr Ashby and a colleague had used the lawsuit in a bid to boost their careers with the opposition Liberal Party.

"I have reached the firm conclusion that Mr Ashby's predominant purpose for bringing these proceedings was to pursue a political attack against Mr Slipper and not to vindicate any legal claim he may have," Justice Rares wrote in his decision.

Related Articles

Justice Rares did not rule on whether Slipper was guilty of sexual harassment. The judge dubbed the lawsuit an abuse of the judicial process, and ordered Ashby to pay Slipper's legal costs.

Mr Slipper said he felt vindicated.

"I have always maintained that Mr. Ashby's application was about manipulating the justice system to inflict damage on my reputation and political career and to advance the interests of the Liberal National Party," Slipper said in a statement.

Mr Ashby said he planned to appeal.

"There's been a determined campaign to try and prevent the substantive allegations being heard and judged in open court and to put me at a maximum cost in pursuing justice," he said outside court.